The Latest: Man, woman killed in plane crash off Florida

DESTIN, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on a small plane that crashed off the Florida Panhandle (all times local):

12:25 p.m.

Law enforcement officials say a man and woman from Alvin, Texas, were killed when their small aircraft crashed into the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Friday that 67-year-old pilot James Shumbert and 60-year-old Sheryl Roe died when the Piper Archer aircraft crashed Thursday night while approaching the Destin airport. Search crews recovered their bodies from the water hours later.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash.

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8:05 a.m.

Law enforcement officials say search crews have recovered the bodies of a man and a woman from the wreckage of a small plane that went down in the water near Destin on the Florida Panhandle.

In a news release, the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office says the plane went down Thursday evening about half a mile off Henderson Beach, and the bodies were found later that night. A man called 911 at 6:52 p.m. to report that he saw a small plane go into the water as he was running along the beach.

Authorities say the two dead are believed to have been the only people on board the Piper Archer aircraft. The plane was registered in Texas. Authorities have not released the names or hometowns of those found.

The plane had been reported overdue at the Destin airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the cause of the crash.

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1:50 a.m.

Official say a small plane crashed off the coast of Destin on the Florida Panhandle, and a search is underway.

The U.S. Coast Guard says in a news release that it received a report around 8 p.m. Thursday that a single-engine airplane crashed into the water about half a mile off Henderson Beach.

The Coast Guard, firefighters, and Okaloosa County and Walton County sheriff's departments are searching the area. The Coast Guard says it has deployed a boat and helicopter crew to search the waters. Okaloosa County and Walton County Sheriff's Departments are searching by shore and have recovered debris.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Department says in a news release that investigators say a plane had been reported overdue at the Destin airport.